It’s interesting what happens when a woman finds out she is pregnant. Everything else is seemingly put on hold as her body begins to change and life begins to grow inside of her. Plans must be made to provide for the child, clothes must be bought, cribs must be assembled. There is so much that goes into bringing a life into the world!
When you’re expecting, there are so many joy-filled days! In the first few months of my sister’s pregnancy, my family would all wait anxiously by our phones every time she had a doctor’s appointment. Obviously the most exciting appointment was when she found out she was having a baby girl.
Watching my sister change from a woman into a mother was the most beautiful sight. Seeing her belly grow and feeling life moving and kicking inside her…moments that like make you truly see what an awesome God we serve.
The only day better than finding out my sister was pregnant was the day my niece finally arrived. She was five days past her due date and we were all (none more so than my sister) anxious for the big day. When I got the call that she was finally in labor, I dropped everything and rushed to the hospital. She was in labor for the entire day and seeing her in pain was difficult to watch.
After being in labor for 13 hours, the doctors finally decided it was time. About 20 minutes later, my niece was finally here.
Perfect.
Healthy.
And right on time.
When God places a vision in you, it’s a lot like a woman who is pregnant.
You’ll want to share the joy of your promise with everyone. You’ll begin preparing for your vision and preparing for the birth in advance. That way, when the time comes and the promise arrives you’ll be ready. You’ll be prepared.
Like an expectant mother, those around you will watch in amazement of God as you begin to change. You will begin to look like someone who is expecting. Not to say that your body will begin to change but you will begin to walk, talk and look like someone who is waiting on God.
Like a woman preparing to bring life into the world you will know that the vision God has placed in you cannot survive in your current environment. So you change your environment. You set aside habits that could have a negative impact on your vision. You prepare your environment for the birth of your vision, removing things that could hinder or harm your vision’s growth. You being to add things to your life that will serve no purpose until your vision is finally birthed.
Your prayer times become like an expectant mother’s doctors’ appointments. You wait anxiously at the feet of God as He updates you on your promise. Hearing specific details about your God-given vision brings about the same excitement as a mother learning the gender of her unborn child.
But unlike a pregnant woman, you don’t always know the due date God has for the promise He’s placed in you. So we begin to get anxious. We try to take matters into our own hands, in an attempt to induce labor. Can you imagine God looking down with a loving smile and saying, “Not yet my child.”? Like an expectant mother placing her hands on her belly and feeling her child kicking within her womb, you too can feel the presence of your promise moving within you.
Then the day finally comes. Your vision, your promise…the very thing God has placed inside of you finally comes into fruition.
All the months of preparation and all the labor pains have finally served their purpose. You have successfully birthed the vision God placed in you.
It’s perfect.
It’s healthy.
It’s right on time.
Waiting for the birth of your vision, much like waiting for the birth of a child can be an exciting yet anxious time.
What will it look like?
How will I provide for it and keep this God-given promise alive?
Am I capable?
Am I truly prepared?
As these questions and more float in and out of your mind, a sudden peace overtakes even the most anxious of thoughts.
We’ve all heard the saying, “God doesn’t call the equipped but He equips the called.” Trust and believe that whatever vision, whatever promise God has placed in your spirit…you are more than qualified to birth it. God promises us that He will never put more on us that we can bear so rather than shying away from seemingly daunting responsibilities, we should rejoice in the fact that God sees our potential to handle those responsibilities accordingly.
As our promise undergoes it’s own gestation process, we recognize it as God taking the time to prepare us. Like an expectant mother taking birthing classes and reading parenting books, our prayer time and our study time will help prepare us for the birth.
No birth can take place without some sort of pain and certainly not without a process. Every now and again I’ll catch my mom looking at me or my siblings with a slight smile on her face and a twinkle of pride in her eyes. Noticing us looking back at her, she’ll make mention of how long she was in labor …the strange food cravings she had while carrying us or how her body changed throughout the pregnancy. But after saying all that she’s sure to say, “It was all worth it.”
Your gestation process; your spiritual pregnancy may not be the most comfortable time in your life. A pregnant woman has to give up certain freedoms she once had and as a parent you are forced to give up even more. But it’s worth it.
You might not be able to go to the same places you used to frequent or clear your scheduled and lay in bed all day like you may want to. But it’s worth it.
You’ll have to be more fiscally responsible and aware of your actions because you never know who is watching or listening. But it’s worth it.
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when the baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” John 16:21
It WILL be worth it.
by Danielle Erwin
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